breast feeding mummies who express

[kiwibella]

... how do you store your breast milk? I have a lil newborn and I am going out for a couple of hours on Thursday and out for dinner on Friday. Bubs can take a bottle and has previously been given formula but I figured that since I have a natural supply....

I will appreciate any advice

I got little plastic screwtop bottles from the hospital when I was expressing a lot at first. Each one holds 4oz and I sterilise and reuse them for keeping milk in the freezer. You can also buy bags for freezing expressed milk. It also lasts well in the fridge (a good few days).

If I'm leaving milk for ds I usually express over a couple of days and keep it in the freezer incase it's not needed (I hate having to throw it away!). Dh defrosts it in hot water. It defrosts very quickly. I usually leave 8oz for a feed. When he was smaller I also left 8oz but in 2 4oz containers, again so it wasn't wasted if not used.

It keeps really well - better than cow's milk - because it has naturally antibacterial stuff in it

I used Lasinoh (sp?) bags when freezing the milk, but for the fridge I used the small Avent bottles with the screwcaps ( think they came with the breastpump but you can probably buy them separately).

thank you so much for your speedy replies!! Can I ask two more questions - I'm sorry if they seem really obvious .

Is boots a good place to head to buy the bags?

If I use bottles, can I mix the milk that I express (ie if I express now and store it in a bottle can I add to it with what I express next time)?

I couldn't find bags in my boots or mothercare

I think the instructions on the bags etc say that you shouldn't add to milk in the bottle but I have to say that I do (bad mummy). As Kathy says, it's pretty robust stuff. As long as you bear in mind how long the oldest milk in the container has been there I can't see what the problem is.

Will go and look up Kellymom.com for you (bible of all things bf ) and see what they say...

This says that it's ok to add to previously expressed milk as long as you take note of how old the earliest expressed milk is.

I've not bought the bags but I've seen them in Boots certainly.

thanks Shona - great site. Urstingug - do you know where else they can be purchased if they aren't in Boots or MC?

Our particular stores didn't,I guess other stores may do though, we are a smallish town .
Try posting a wanted on here, I did and got some willing mners to sell me theirs.

Just found them on Little Green Earthlets website: www.earthlets.co.uk/product.asp?numPageStartPosition=1&strPageHistory=cat&strKeywords=&strSearchCriteria=&PT_ID=142&P_ID=366&btnProduct=More+details. Pack of 25 £4.95.

instead of those little plastic milk storage bags, i used the smallest baby bottles that Boots makes. they are 4oz, narrow and they, i found when caught out without express bags, fit the Ameda Double electric pumps perfectly.

those storage bags were working out expensive as i expressed at work.

boots do their own version of the lansinoh bags which work just as well. but if its just for one evening, you could probably use the containers that came with your pump...

I store the milk in the bottle in the Tommee Tippee bottle she feeds fron. I phoned the company and they said it was suitable. Less mess/waste, and it is ready when I need it. EBM lasts at least 3 days in the fridge.

not that it matters much for one off expressing but apparently the bottles are better than the bags cos the fats stick to the bag

I used the Boots bags and out of the 4 I have defrosted - 3 have leaked Certainly wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

Think I've been told at some point or other that if you are mixing 2 lots of expressed milk, they should e the same temp before you mix them (i.e. ensure they are both in the fridge before you mix them together).
Storage-wise, I also had those little bottles from the hospital. Just washed and sterilised them and used again and again (in fact some still in freezer, 4 months after stopped bf!!)

i'm confuused, i am expressing but had been told that milk should onlty be kept for 24 hours in the fridge, is this not right?

I've bought the bags in Mothercare, but it took me ages to find them as they were displayed in the maternity section with breast pads, not near the expressing stuff where I expected them to be. I assumed they didn't have any when I looked for them, and then bumped into them by mistake later on

I mixed 2 'batches' of expressed milk many times and nothing terible ever happened to my DS..........!!!

I use the Lansinoh bags - got mine from Mothercare though. I was also under the impression that it only kept for 24 hours in the fridge.